The biggest winners from fintech are the customers as it revolutionalises customer engagement and removes institutional, bureaucratic impediments, according to Federal Treasurer Scott Morrison.
Addressing the Financial Services Council’s (FSC’s) and BT’s breakfast event in Sydney on Monday, the Treasurer said fintech was not just transformational for financial services but for all businesses around the country.
“The technology is exciting. It can be distracting, it can sometimes over promise and under deliver. But at the same time it’s hard not to appreciate the potential,” he said.
“And like any new sector where innovation arrives, there are misfires, there are misstarts. But it’s important that we don’t lose sight of the benefits of fintech in revolutionising how it will allow the customer to engage like never before.
“First, it was seen as a disrupter of the big banks, and I think we’re past that. What we’re now seeing is a collaboration between the FinTech innovators and the financial and banking system.”
Morrison said thanks to the fintech sandbox the pieces of the puzzle were coming together for the financial services revolution in Australia.
“And the big winner will be the customer. We’ll see greater security and resilience in the system. Technology affords that as well,” he said.
“Whichever way you look, you’re removing what have been institutional, bureaucratic, impediments between the customer and the service provider. Anywhere we’ve seen that in history, we’ve seen massive changes.”
He noted the Government’s goal was a financial system that was unquestionably strong, accountable, and competitive and would therefore be a fairer system for customers.
“We are putting customers at the apex of the financial system where they belong. We are making sure they benefit from competition, stability and accountability,” he said.
